The Future of Work in Developing Countries (Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia: Challenges in Development and Globalization)

One of the most pressing issues in development today is the employment challenge in low- and middle-income countries. As more young people enter the labor force―and as structural transformation unfolds amid deindustrialization, technological disruption, and global competition―the question of how to create sufficient decent jobs has become central to the economic future of the Global South. Although this is a shared challenge across developing regions, it is particularly acute in Africa, where rapid demographic change and urbanization are colliding with limited industrial expansion.

Bringing together leading international scholars, The Future of Work in Developing Countries examines the employment problem from multiple perspectives. Early chapters develop conceptual frameworks around corporations and the global hierarchy of production. Subsequent contributions investigate the dynamics of structural transformation, the role of firms in linking production and labor to surplus, and the design of industrial and technology policies. Later chapters turn to detailed case studies―especially from Africa―that illustrate the possibilities and limits of different growth paths, and comparative insights from Asia and Latin America provide further perspective.

By combining rigorous theoretical analysis with grounded empirical research, this book demonstrates that employment creation is not an automatic byproduct of growth but a political and institutional project. It offers fresh insights for scholars of development, political economy, and economic history, as well as for policy makers seeking strategies to promote inclusive transformation in Africa and beyond.

Arjun Jayadev is professor of economics and director of the Centre for the Study of the Indian Economy at Azim Premji University, Bangalore.

Akbar Noman is senior fellow at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue and adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Joseph E. Stiglitz, a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, is University Professor and founding president of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University.